Reviewers needed for new Furniture Apprenticeships

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education are seeking furniture industry experts to review the following apprenticeships standards submitted by the Trailblazer Groups:

• Furniture Making Operative
• Mattress Manufacturing Operative
• Upholstery Operative
• Furniture Finisher
• Wood Machinist

Each of these will require an independent peer review when the standard is submitted for approval.  The review forms part of the approvals process and the essential purpose is to consider the extent to which the apprenticeship would prepare someone to work .

The draft apprenticeships will be available for independent review over the next few months (a review would typically take a couple of hours) and someone could either undertake a review pro bono or apply to join the pool of independent reviewers, to review other materials too, and be eligible for a fee on completion of the contract process. It is not necessary to have educational experience, the commitment is not onerous, and the role highly flexible.

Please contact Lisa Williamson if you are interested in this role or would like further information.

More information on the role

Criteria to become a peer reviewer

You should have occupational or academic expertise, perhaps as a line manager, trainer or technical expert, with enthusiasm for developing people and qualifications.  It may be helpful if you have encountered training or qualification materials before, but this is not essential. Peer reviewers must not comment on any apprenticeship they have been involved in developing.

The role of the peer reviewer

Peer reviewers use their experience and expertise to provide high quality comments on apprenticeship content.  They focus on key quality criteria set by the Institute and whether the learner would reach the level of occupational competence appropriate to the qualification and whether the proposed assessment would be valid and reliable.  These comments inform the recommendations Institute officials make to the Institute’s Board as part of the approvals process. The peer reviewer’s comments are anonymised prior to distribution and the Institute protects the identity of its reviewers.

The workload for a peer reviewer who has a contract with the Institute is highly flexible and can range from one or two submissions up to several a year.  Each review taking typically up to four hours (for which our contracted reviewers receive a fee). A review takes the form of answers to questions about the submission and seeks your views based on your experience.  You are asked to give examples to support your comments wherever possible.